popcorn
Junior Forum Member
Posts: 227
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Post by popcorn on Dec 27, 2022 20:39:29 GMT
Hi
I am one of those photographers who take thousands of images and put them into folders to "be processed at a later date".
I am also a "mature" photographer, probably very mature!! So I when revisiting these folders "at a later date" I normally can't remember whether I have cataloged them in Organizer. or not. Some of these have been processed and edited and are psd. files
Is there any way that the edited psd photo files in the folders can designated as "Organized"?
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Post by Andy on Dec 27, 2022 21:18:12 GMT
Is there a reason you aren't just importing everything into the Organizer, and then using that to identify which files/folders you want to process later? It is much easier to do it via Organizer than through Windows Explorer.
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popcorn
Junior Forum Member
Posts: 227
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Post by popcorn on Dec 30, 2022 14:46:03 GMT
Hi Andy,
Thanks for your quick reply.
I need to restate my problem, .
I have many folders with image files in them that were processed some time ago.
I am now going through the folders and "Organizing" them. Rating them and tagging them.
Some of the images have been previously consciously imported into Organizer by me, others not.
I now realize that I have renamed and moved some of these images to different folders.
The Organizer "Folder Tree" only goes as far as the folder containing the file, it does not allow access to individual files.
As a result I have to move files between folders using Explorer.
The problem is that the images are imported automatically into by Organizer before processing and editing are complete.
On completion of the editing I save the image, back to the original folder, using the same file name,
When I then try to import the fully edited version, Organizer informs me that the image was not imported because it already existed in the catalog.
I was hoping that Organizer would have inserted some notation into the actual file's metadata which would allow me to identify those files that had been imported in their final version?
Is there any way to dis-able Organizer automatic import to only importing those files consciously submitted by me via the "Import from Files and Folders" function?
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Post by michelb on Dec 30, 2022 20:47:27 GMT
Hi popcorn,
"The Organizer "Folder Tree" only goes as far as the folder containing the file, it does not allow access to individual files." The folders panel in folder tree mode allow selecting files in the displaying space on the right and moving them by drag and drop into a given subfolder. You have a problem if the destination subfolder does no already contain catalogued files; you have to make them 'show'. So, it may be better to use the command 'File > move'.
As I see it, the root problems you have in your expected workflow is that: - 1 - You have a number of folders from temporary 'import batches' where you have both 'imported = registered' files in the catalog and others not imported, that is not known to the catalog. - 2 - For the imported files, there is no easy way to distinguish edited or not edited files. An action on your part may be necessary to add tags, change formats (saving as psd, tiff...), save as, create version sets, play with stars...
Moving files or subfolders in the folders panel by drag and drop can work just like in the explorer view provided all files and folders are visible in that folders panel. Generally, organizer users don't care very much about a 'clean' and 'logical' folder structure if the tagging system is logical. However, that is quite possible, and the only drawback is more work.
What can help you in your situation? - if your temporary folders contain both registered and unregistered files in the catalog, do reimport the whole folder. Only the unregistered ones will be imported. The other will be skipped and not duplicated. That 'import batch' will be recoverable when you want. That's a way to distinguish different import batches. I suppose only files imported in the organizer have been edited? - perhaps using 'save as' option to create systematically version sets would help to know the editing status while keeping originals and edited versions stacked together. Easy to move the stack to the final location. Already edited files show and you can decide for the unedited ones if you cull or edit.
Does this help for a start?
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popcorn
Junior Forum Member
Posts: 227
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Post by popcorn on Dec 31, 2022 12:38:08 GMT
Hi Michel
Thank you for your help.
After reading your reply, I went back to my Organizer to see if I could view files in the folders.
I chose a folder and I could not see any files. Then I read the message displayed. 'No files from this folder have been imported into Elements. To add any files, right click on the folder and select "Import Media".
From this I now realize that the "Folders" in Elements only include those files which have been imported into the Organizer.
If I have an Explorer folder which contains both files previously imported into Explorer and others that have not been, my interpretation of this is that if I click on the Folder in the Organizer tree it will only import the files which have not been imported previously?
If this is the case then one of my problems is solved.
Now all I have to get sorted is a method of stopping Organizer from importing files automatically.
Is this possible?
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Post by michelb on Dec 31, 2022 14:48:43 GMT
Exactly, that is the default behaviour of the organizer. The obvious reason is that you are supposed to work in a single catalog and having a display of images in other catalogs or not in any catalog mixed together as well would be very confusing. However, that default behaviour can be simply changed to something like the Explorer. A big problem to show exactly the full Explorer view would be a performance problem. Showing eveything works well with Bridge, for instance, because Bridge does not work on a catalog. It manages a 'cache' which does not include all files in the computer, only the most recent and meaningful ones. If you keep in mind that while you are working in a PSE catalog, there could be all sorts of changes in the folders structure, from other external softwares or even other catalogs, it would take ages to update to external changes; the present behaviour has replaced the one of first versions of the organizer which were really 'buggy'.
So, the working compromise is to restrict showing 'Explorer' view to a single folder and its subfolders. In the folder tree on the left, right click on the master folder of the branch you want to see like in the Explorer, and choose to 'show all'.
Yes, if they have not been edited in the meantime.
Do you mean that you have folders chosen in the 'watched folders' menu? If so, edit that menu to only keep the folders you want to keep monitored or none if you wish.
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popcorn
Junior Forum Member
Posts: 227
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Post by popcorn on Jan 3, 2023 14:44:44 GMT
Thanks Michel,
I guess it takes time to get used to changes. I can now almost live with moving the image instead of the crop boundary!
"Do you mean that you have folders chosen in the 'watched folders'" . No. What happens to me is that images I am currently working on in the Editor seem to get imported into Organizer during the editing process before I am complete. As far as I can ascertain Organizer/Editor does this without me have given any instruction to do so.
When I have completed the edit I save the psd file into its folder.
When I have completed and saved a batch I normally import the batch into Organizer. If an image which has been "automatically" imported into Organizer is in this batch, it does not import, because according to Organizer it is already in the catalog. I have to find the errant file in the catalog and delete it.
I normally rename the files that I have saved, in which case they are accepted for importation but then the semi=edited files are still in Organizer.
Sorry I am not making myself very clear, but this is the best I can do.
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Post by michelb on Jan 3, 2023 17:37:37 GMT
I suspect that the import into the catalog takes place when you save your edited version in the editor. The 'save as' dialog options start with a checkbox allowing saving in the organizer, which means importing the file. Take care not to tick that option if you want to work outside of the organizer.
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